Institutional Affiliation (3)

The Fight in the Fields Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement-A summary

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Institutional Affiliation

The book The Fight in the Fields Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement by Susan Ferriss and Ricardo Sandoval tells a story about Cesar Chavez’s struggles in acquiring justice and dignity for the migrant agricultural laborers through the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. The book documents the history of Chavez, who founded the Union, as well as the impact he inspired using the movement. As a result, Chavez remains a vital leader in Latino history. Worth noting, the activities carried out by Chavez and his organizers paved the way for the Chano activism taking place between 1960 and 1970s, which helped create a civil rights movement that is Latino. The authors use an admirable tone that makes it easy to understand that Chavez built the workers union with a combination of savvy, grit humility, and a belief in lack of violence. The purpose of this essay is to provide a summary of the book, which talks about the commencement of a movement that gave American migrant farmworkers civil rights.

The book begins by taking the reader through the perspective of people about the Union. Ricardo Sandoval and Susan Ferris, who are award-winning reporters at the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Examiner, respectively inquire about the Union from some workers. One of the replies she gets is, “We are older people, and we know what it was like before. We know the Union is good.” This simple sentiment provides a perfect description of Chavez’s struggle and his colleagues in improving working conditions for American workers. The account of the events presented by these two authors takes place over a span of 70 years, starting with Chavez’s birth in 1927, leading up to his death in 1993. The Chavez families were dispossessed of their farm in 1938 during the Great Depression forcing them to relocate to California to become migrant workers. At this point, Chavez became distressed by the poor working conditions which the workers had to endure on a daily basis. His drive to see change, powerful religious convictions, and skills in non-violence drove the establishment of the UFC union. His supporters used the term “La Causa” to refer to the movement. He did not know that soon the Union would become a significant movement for self-determination to California farmworkers. There was an outstanding nationwide grape and lettuce boycotts. The members of the public made known the atrocities of the agribusiness in California, which resulted in collective bargaining for migrant workers and the hiring of halls by first unions. Cesar Chavez’s Childhood would later shape his actions and role in the movement.

Just as is the case for California citizens and the whole nation, Sandoval and Ferris give life to an important history for the growers and farmers working in farmers. The two authors carry out substantial research; they dig through tens of decades of interviews with union supporters and officials and reviewing work-related legislation. Further, the authors do what most authors are unable to do; gain access to UFC headquarters at La Paz, a retreat located on the Tehachapi Mountains that is highly secluded. Sandoval and Ferris both had a straightforward viewpoint; that workers were good, and growers were bad. On several occasions, they had become reluctant to deal with Chavez and interact with growers at the Union. They attributed this reluctance to the out-and-about racism which existed at the time. Additionally, there was a prejudice about white growers that Mexicans were just lazy and inferior workers. They were supposed to count themselves lucky that they had employment. The bias maintained that Mexicans were not deserving of bargaining rights as they would squander their pay rise on drinking, gambling, and other vices.

Worth noting there existed and still exist people opposed to the Chavez idea of having a movement. Opponents who were mostly non-white farmers included Mexican American Farmers and Nisei Farmers League (American Japanese) members. They refused to recognize the UFW as they were suspicious and critical of Chavez. This has to do with the fact that most of them had not encountered any form of racial discrimination, and they were never interned by the government and state authorities during the Second World War. To understand Ceaser Chavez properly, there is a need to understand his moral complexity as stipulated in the way he handles illegal migration. UFW is seen to hold a spotty record in line with illegal migration. Chavez commands the workers at UFW Union to report to the Naturalization and Immigration Service for illegal immigrants. This strikebreaker forms the basis where the notorious wet-line by the Union was established. Worth noting, the officials employed by the Union had to man outposts located along the Mexico-Arizona border. This was intended to stop illegal migrants from entering the United States physically.

In The Fight in the Fields Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement, the two authors cover the childhood of Cesar Chavez and the work he carried out while working with the Community Services Organization. Further, the book talks about forming the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, the grape pickers’ strike in 1965, and the march to Sacramento that took place in 1966. As directed by the authors of this book, the first Boycott of the DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation took place in 1966, as well as the first-ever UFC elections. In 1967, there was a legendary battle against the Guimarra Vineyards. Chavez’s rise to nationwide fame was catapulted by his 1968 fast. In 1970, Chavez encountered lettuce wars with the Salinas. The long and violent conflict with Teamsters was over how the workers were organized in the field. This conflict also ensued following information that some UFW workers had become martyrs for the La Causa movement. The year 1973 was characterized by the titanic struggle with Gallo Wineries and E & J. These two were the first corporations to openly criticize Chavez and the UFW Union. The critiques maintained that Chavez, the UFW leader had become too grown to be removed from the uncertain daily existence of the farmworkers working at the grassroots level. In these corporations’ viewpoints, Chavez had become an ignorant leader, which is why there was a sinking morale and declining membership at the Union.

The authors bring to the attention of the readers regarding the great triumph that was witnessed in 1975. The Agricultural Labor and Relations Board was established, and the National Labor Relations Act was established. The following year recorded a defeat in the Proposition 14 of the UFW Union that sought to secure permanent funding for its board. In an attempt to adopt a new approach to resolving conflict, Chavez introduced “The Game” in 1977 which was deemed a controversial technique. This marked the beginning of major defections conducted by Filipino supporters. Their withdrawal from the organization marked the transformation of UFW union from an ordinary labor group advocating for migrants’ rights to a renowned Mexican cultural identity. Throughout the 1980s, there was a boycott following the widespread use of pesticides. Although Chavez became less successful in 1988, the fall of the once-powerful movement reached its peak in the 1990s leading up to his death in 1993 (Garcia, 2016). Worth noting the current UFW president alongside Chavez’s son-in-law are trying to increase membership and restore its credibility and glory. The teams continue to pay homage to Chavez’s near-iconic status and are discreetly steering the organization’s strategies in doing away with boycotts. They are trying to organize the field that had been neglected by the rule of Chavez.

Although the movement achieved any milestones, his legacy has mixed reactions. He rose to a big stature and he overshadowed every person around him, making dissent hard if not impossible to achieve with the Union. In the end, the book is a depiction of the incomplete account of a history of a drama that defined the history of California and America. Over the past decades, the Union has had its ups and downs its membership alongside its public image has fallen and risen.

In their book, The Fight in the Fields Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement, Susan Ferriss and Ricardo Sandoval follow the life of Cesar Chavez, founder UFW. The Union was born years after a major occurrence in Chavez’s live his perception about work. His family was disposed of their land, forcing them to relocate to California as a migrant. Chavez did not like the working conditions of these people. At the time, racism was rampant. This led him to form the Union in 1962 that served as a voice for migrant workers in agribusiness. The movement achieved many milestones, and it had opponents too. Worth noting, Cesar’s life experienced only prepared him as a leader of the organization later.

References

Garcia, M. (2016). Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Movement. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History.